PRESS BOX: New York football fails to meet expectations

Dan Elson, Contributing Writer

The New York Giants and Jets were expected to make the playoffs going into the 2023-24 season, but both disappointed big time. 

New York fans, for the first time in a while, were excited to kick off the season. The Giants went 6-11 and the Jets finished 7-10 for the second year in a row. 

New York sports fans are the best and most passionate in the world. We have a love-hate relationship with players, coaches and the front office. We hold them accountable for frustrating results.

Out of the four major leagues, the MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL, New York hasn’t witnessed a team in the championship since the Mets lost in five games to the Kansas City Royals in 2015. We’re tired of other teams getting a shot at a championship. When can it be our turn?

The Giants were one of the best stories in the NFL last season. They shocked the football world as they went 9-7-1 and beat the Minnesota Vikings on the road 31-24 in the playoffs. It seemed like the Giants were on their way to finally becoming a legit team.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones had his best season yet last year in his career under head coach Brian Daboll, who won the 2022 Associated Press Coach of the Year. In the offseason, the Giants re-signed Jones to a four-year $160 million contract with only two years guaranteed. 

Week one for the Giants was supposed to prove they could compete with or maybe even beat the Dallas Cowboys, who had a lot of success against the Giants in recent years. It couldn’t have gone any worse for them as they lost 40-0 at home. 

Jones regressed this year and tore his ACL against the Las Vegas Raiders in week nine, causing him to miss the rest of the season.

By week six, the Giants were just 1-5 and outscored by opponents 167-71. They were arguably one of the worst teams in the league. The Giants stabilized and finished 5-6 in their final 11 games.

NFL Insider Jay Glazer reported tensions between Daboll and Giants defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale during the season. In early January, Martindale resigned and the Giants fired their special teams and offensive line coaches.

The offensive line was supposed to be better and wound up being the worst in the league. The Giants gave up 85 sacks, according to the NFL. 

“We came in here year one, we were able to go to the playoffs and win a playoff game,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said in a press conference. “This year didn’t go as well as we wanted to for various reasons. We’ve all got a hand in it and we all got to do better going into next year.”

The Giants have the sixth overall pick in the upcoming draft. They should choose a quarterback because Jones has problems staying healthy and producing consistent stats. 

The Jets should also look to draft a quarterback in April.

The quarterback was the Jet’s main weakness last year, but they still managed to win seven games. 

In the offseason, the Jets traded for future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers in hope to potentially win a Super Bowl. At the time, it was a good trade for the Jets because they acquired a quarterback who’s been to the postseason often and won a Super Bowl.

The trade turned out to backfire because early in the first quarter in week one against the Buffalo Bills, Rodgers got injured and missed the rest of the season. A Jets fans’ nightmare turned into reality this season.

The Jets then turned to quarterback Zach Wilson who showed little promise at times but struggled to get the Jets into the end zone. They averaged just 15.8 points a game — ranking keep third to last in the NFL, according to ESPN.

The Jets were supposed to have one of the best defenses in the league. The defense turned out to be a little overrated as they were 11th in points per game — allowing 20.9. 

Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson was supposed to take the next step but ultimately couldn’t because of the poor play by Zach Wilson.  

In fact, Garrett Wilson told reporters that this season was the “worst” of his life.

“I didn’t meet my expectations this season but that’s for multiple reasons,” Wilson said. “I’m going to make sure that’s not the case next season.”

If the Jets want to have sustained success, they should rebuild for the long term. They should fire head coach Robert Saleh, who’s 18-33 in three seasons, according to the New York Post. 

While this season was bad for both teams, next year can’t be a repeat. The Jets and Giants need to be playoff bound next year to give us fans hope that the days losing are over.